


Day Forty-Six || Revenge

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [46]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 13:31:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17808863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: Sasuke isn't the only one with a revenge story. Hinata's is just a little different...because she had been the target.





	Day Forty-Six || Revenge

She hadn’t blamed him for his actions. If anything, she more than understood. If there had been anything she could have done, she would have done it. But between her meek nature, her lack of power, and her removal from the title of heiress...there was nothing Hinata could do for her cousin.

So she took his beating as best she could.

Back then, she’d still been hung up on Naruto. Inspired by his own will, spitting in the faces of those who looked down on him, she’d tried to emulate that strength. But as much as she wanted to prove herself to Neji, so too did she feel guilt for his treatment, though the cause was - admittedly - beyond her control. She could no more help her birth than she could the tradition of the Hyūga clan seal.

So when she saw the hatred in his eyes when their preliminary match began, she met it with two emotions of her own: determination...and understanding.

He nearly killed her that day.

He nearly had his revenge.

But the medics kept her alive, healing her heart as Neji went on in his victory. He was smug in his success, but there was no blaming him. Part of her wondered if maybe, just slightly, it chipped at his submission to fate. After all, a boy of the branch house had beaten a girl of the main. And given the context, there was no one there to enact his seal. He’d been stopped, sure...but not by the mark on his brow.

In a small, perhaps twisted way...she’d been happy for him.

And yet, in the end, he lost to Naruto, who - in his typical style - made him think. Made him reconsider his path. And the final nail in the coffin had been her father telling Neji the truth of his father’s sacrifice: one chosen, not forced.

It wasn’t instant...but Neji began to turn around.

He apologized to her within the week, begging her forgiveness. She’d given it, but insisted there was nothing to forgive. “You had e-every right to be angry, and...I was part of that anger.”

“But you were not -!”

“No, I wasn’t the one who branded you, o-or ever used the seal on you. But, indirectly...I caused you suffering. And I did nothing to stop it.”

“Hinata-sama -”

“Please d-don’t call me that.”

“I know now...it was not in your hands. And I know now that your gentleness is not a weakness. If you’d had the chance, I’m certain you would have done something. Perhaps, someday...you can see change in this divided clan of ours.”

“I hope so, Neji-nīsan.”

The pair began training together, and through it, their bond began to mend. Every break they had to take as Hinata’s heart fluttered brought heavy guilt to his features, but she would wave it aside. Slowly it grew stronger, and with it, her resolution.

Eventually, she voiced it to him.

“I don’t want my title back.”

Neji’s eyes had widened. “You...you don’t?”

“...no.” They were sitting on the engawa, watching the sun set over the Hyūga clan wall. Tea held loosely in her hand, she stared into the amber liquid. “I don’t want to prove myself to my father, or my clan. The only person I need to prove anything to...is m-myself. I want to get stronger for  _ me _ . I want to discipline myself for  _ me _ . Whatever else comes of it...well, I’ll just have to see.”

Neji had looked to her calculatingly. “...what of Naruto?”

“He’s leaving soon, to go with Jiraiya-sama to train. Probably for a long time. I think…” She paused, trying to find the right words. “...I think...that will be good for me. Naruto-kun inspires me. I want to be brave, and confident, like him. But...I need to do so  _ my _ way. S-so…” It was then she turned sheepish, fiddling with her mug. “W...would you agree to train me,  Neji-nīsan? As...as my main teacher?”

“Me? But, Hinata-sama -”

“You’re just as good as my father, i-if not more so! And…” She gave him a smile. “You’re one of my best friends. I...I trust you. I know you wouldn’t go easy on me, and you’d be honest. I want someone to push my limits - it’s the o-only way I’ll get stronger! Then...when Naruto-kun comes back, we’ll both have been working hard. And then I can prove to him, and everyone else, that I’m a capable shinobi.”

Blinking, he’d considered her silently for a long moment...before bowing his head with a smile. “...I understand. I would be honored to teach you, Hinata-sama.”

“Oh would  _ please _ stop calling me that?”

From then on, for the next three years, the pair of Hyūga cousins sparred almost exclusively, save for their times with their team. Occasionally, Hanabi would join them, curious about their regimen compared to her own. But most days, the Hyūga training grounds were home only to the pair of them.

They had grown from embittered clansmen to close friends, still discussing a future of the clan without the seal. Unless someone had witnessed their childhood dynamic, they could never guess the pair had ever been at odds.

And then...there’d been the war.

Hinata’s heart had shattered. It had been  _ her _ sacrifice to make, not Neji’s! That, more than anything, haunted her the most.

But old friendships, by whatever grace, saw him brought back to her.

Hiashi, swayed by his nephew’s mirrored sacrifice, finally relented: he would help them bring an end to the implementation of the seal. Neji’s would not be replaced.

He was finally free.

And so he remains even now, serving as Hanabi’s foremost advisor as she grows into her position. Though no longer heiress, Hinata still does her part for her clan...but her time is split now, having married into another.

And it’s her husband’s question that brings the tale back to the forefront of her mind.  _ “Didn’t you two hate each other?” _

“Mm...well, Neji hated me,” she replies. “And for good reason, even if he’d deny it now. His want for revenge - for his father, and for himself - was more than justified. But...things changed. And now, I consider him my best friend.”

Sasuke perks a brow, glancing from her to the elder Hyūga cousin. “...he’s definitely different than before. Still a bit of an asshole, though.”

She gives him a look. “He’s...prudish, and prideful. But he is  _ not  _ an asshole. Besides...you two have a lot in common. I think, if you both put that part of you aside...you’d be very good friends.”

“...and what do we have in common?”

_ Besides that want for revenge? _ she can’t help but think dryly. “Well, maybe if you ever sit and chat with him, you’ll find out.”

“...hn. Maybe I will.”

**Author's Note:**

> Ooh, what a twist! :D "Sasuke" and "revenge" are just...too often paired words. I wanted to try to do something a little different! At first, I wanted to do something AU, but...well, after a long day, I just couldn't brain enough to make that happen, so we have this instead!
> 
> Hinata knows the story of revenge, just...from a different angle than Sasuke. While she wasn't ACTUALLY the perpetrator, she was the target of Neji's revenge...at least, for a time. I think that helps her empathize with Sasuke even more, especially in ALAS where she's made privy to things. Which only helps them get along all the better!
> 
> But, that's all I've got for tonight - sorry it's late, but life was a lil hectic today! Hopefully tomorrow I can post a little earlier. Either way though, thanks for reading!


End file.
